Community

A community can come together for the common good or be torn apart by disagreement and strife. This collection explores what makes a community and how individuals struggle or succeed in finding their place within it.

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Teams, Relationships: Family, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Environment, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Relationships: Friendship, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Society: Community, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Realistic Fiction, Gender / Feminism, Love / Sexuality, Parenting, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction

Clock Dance (2018) is Anne Tyler’s 22nd domestic literary fiction novel that explores the smaller details of the human condition. Clock Dance, which spans time periods from 1967 to 2017, follows Willa, a woman who’s always made herself useful to those around her without any regard for her own needs. Through Willa’s life, Clock Dance explores themes of self-fulfillment, appreciation, passivity, and community to show how people do (or don’t) change throughout time. This novel... Read Clock Dance Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Society: Community

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, British Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1781

Genre Scripture, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Crime / Legal, History: Asian, Politics / Government, Religion / Spirituality, Philosophy


Publication year 2004

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Natural World: Climate, Society: Community, Natural World: Environment

Tags History: World, Climate Change, Anthropology, Anthropology, Science / Nature, Social Science, Business / Economics, Sociology, Politics / Government

Following his best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997), geologist and anthropologist Jared Diamond published a companion book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, in 2006. Where Guns, Germs, and Steel described how various environments around the world helped or hindered human civilization, Collapse explains how environmental abuse ruined many past societies and how it threatens civilizations today. An updated edition, released in 2011 by Penguin Books, is the subject of this... Read Collapse Summary


Publication year 2002

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Race, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Midlife, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Feminist Theory, Gender Studies, Self Help, Gender / Feminism, Love / Sexuality, Philosophy, Relationships, Women's Studies (Nonfiction)


Publication year 1846

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Society: Community

Tags Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Philosophy, Religion / Spirituality

Published in 1846, Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the Philosophical Fragments is one of the major works of the Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard. The book is so named because Kierkegaard intended it as a sequel to his 1844 work Philosophical Fragments, although the Postscript is more than six times longer than the Fragments. The word “unscientific” is an ironic allusion to rationalistic philosophy, particularly that of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.Hegel’s philosophy—known as Hegelianism—held that... Read Concluding Unscientific Postscript Summary


Publication year 2010

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Past, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags History: U.S., American Civil War, Military / War, History: World, Politics / Government


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Sexuality, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, LGBTQ, Class, Incarceration, Gender / Feminism, Love / Sexuality, Social Justice, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, History: World


Publication year 2006

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Globalization, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Philosophy, Education, Education, Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Arts / Culture, Politics / Government

Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers (2006) is a philosophical text written by Kwame Anthony Appiah. Appiah, a philosopher and ethicist who teaches at New York University, grew up in Kumasi, Ghana, where his father was a Ghanaian political leader and his mother a British expatriate. His family’s multicultural background, as well as the experience of growing up in diverse Kumasi and then attending school in the United Kingdom, informed Appiah’s thinking about communicating... Read Cosmopolitanism Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Natural World: Objects, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Grandparents, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Children's Literature, Social Justice, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Arts / Culture


Publication year 2006

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Community

Tags Journalism, Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Health / Medicine

Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness, published in 2006, is a blend of memoir and journalism by author and Washington Post journalist Pete Earley. The book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2007 and recounts the struggles of Earley’s son, Mike, to receive treatment for his mental illness, which results in Mike’s arrest. Earley juxtaposes Mike’s story with the stories of Miami residents with mental illnesses as they navigate life in... Read Crazy Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Place, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Globalization, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Psychological Fiction


Publication year 1856

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Community, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature

Tags Relationships, American Literature, Education, Education, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1948

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness

Tags Historical Fiction, African Literature, Race / Racism, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction

Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1948 work of historical fiction by Alan Paton. Set in South Africa, it follows a Christian reverend named Stephen Kumalo, who lives in a Zulu village called Ndotsheni. Geographically isolated from his brother John, his sister Gertrude, and his son Absalom, Stephen becomes worried when he stops hearing from them. He travels to Johannesburg to check up on them. Cry, the Beloved Country is known for illuminating a historically... Read Cry, the Beloved Country Summary


Publication year 1878

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Community

Tags Classic Fiction, Romance, Victorian Period, Education, Education, American Literature, History: World

Daisy Miller is a novella by Henry James, first published in Cornhill Magazine in 1878 and in book form a year later. This short piece of fiction explores the differences in class and social expectations in America and Europe, especially for young women just before the turn of the 20th century. James was a member of a prominent and wealthy American family; his education and travels to England and continental Europe allowed him to gain... Read Daisy Miller Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Natural World: Environment, Society: Community

Tags Science / Nature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction


Publication year 2012

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Society: Community

Tags Self Help, Parenting

Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead (2012) is a self-help book that argues people need to embrace vulnerability and live courageously. Rooted in 12 years of ground-breaking research, the book shows that vulnerability is not a weakness but instead it is a measure of courage and the key to a fulfilling life. Daring Greatly is a New York Times best seller and... Read Daring Greatly Summary


Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Fathers, Natural World: Climate, Society: Community

Tags Historical Fiction, Survival Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, History: World


Publication year 1997

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, African Literature, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, History: U.S., Gender / Feminism, History: World